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In elementary school, I went through a phase where I would often make what I called “decorative platters.” I would take whatever my family was eating for dinner – which, thanks to my vegetarian-except-for-occasional-seafood parents, generally included plenty of vegetables and color – and arrange it on my plate in the most artistic way possible. I think I was probably a little food-obsessed even back then. Sometimes, my babysitters would arrive soon after we’d started eating (my parents are musicians and often had rehearsals around six or seven in the evening), and I was able to show them my skills. I’m sure they were thrilled.

I don’t really bother to arrange my food in any particular way anymore, but last night, as I was getting ready to put a quiche in the oven, I couldn’t resist making it as pretty as possible. The quiche wasn’t even a planned meal. It was Saturday evening around five and I realized that I had a) no prepared food and b) no desire to go to the store. I did, however, have eggs, cheese, and random vegetables, so I roughly followed this recipe, using a little bit of fresh spinach, half an onion, garlic, the end of a red bell pepper, and a tomato for my veggies. I also used plenty of seasonings (Tony’s, Tabasco, black pepper, and Dijon mustard) and three kinds of cheese (cheddar, Parmesan, and Swiss) because having multiple kinds of cheese on hand is just how we roll in this apartment.

Before I popped my impromptu quiche in the oven, I sliced up one final Roma tomato and arranged it in a shape that reminds me of a starfish, then put a few more tomato slices around the edges. When the quiche came out of the oven, I put a sprig of basil from our windowsill basil plant in the center to make the whole thing even prettier…and to cover up the part of the quiche where I’d pierced it with a knife multiple times because apparently, mile-high altitude affects how quiche bakes. It took forever. But it ended up looking like this:

Also, it’s delicious. Not bad for a thrown-together dinner.

Then, shortly after I ate it, I nearly had a heart attack because a BAT WAS FLYING AROUND IN MY APARTMENT. But that’s another story for another day.